On 10 February, the Brussels Circle got together for a new discussion about the federalist proposals regarding the governance of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

David Garcia, UEF Policy & Advocacy Officer, presented the contribution that the Secretariat is preparing for the AFCO Report about the unexploited potentialities of the Treaty of Lisbon to improve the current structure of the EU, which served as basis for an inflamed debate.

Its proposals regarding the EMU are based on the need to increase the democratic legitimacy of its policies as well as the political accountability in its decision-making processes. Great improvements are possible without Treaty change. The full involvement of the European Parliament in the key stages of policy-making and a clearer assignment of political responsibility within the EMU would increase the democratic nature of the euro area. In addition, increased political autonomy could be reached thanks to the establishment of an EMU budget. This, along with the establishment of a Single Fiscal and Economic Policy for the EMU, would permit better economic and social coordination. The euro area would be able to provide financial support to avoid and absorb asymmetric shocks and to make direct investments to promote the European interest. However, the Treaty of Lisbon presents serious limits to the development of the EMU governance. The lack of effective mechanisms for political sanction, enforcement of decisions and harmonisation of social policies are the greatest challenges.

The topics which raised the greatest interest were the government structure of the EMU and its own resources. The group of experts and enlightened members discussed in depth the means to create a stable and accountable government for the euro area. They also explored innovative ways to feed an eventual EMU budget so that the juste retour debate is left behind. The conclusions from this debate will be soon published among many other proposals in the first issue of the UEF Policy Briefs.